Poverty

Close to one out of every eight Americans struggled to feed themselves adequately in 2007, a report by the Agriculture Department, released earlier this week, revealed.

The statistic translates to 36.2 million adults and children who struggled with hunger last year, slightly up from 35.3 million in 2006. In other words, 12.2 percent of Americans did not have enough money or assistance to obtain enough food to maintain active, healthy lives, according to the report.

Nearly a third of the number of Americans struggling to feed themselves went hungry at some point, which represents a growth of more than 40 percent since 2000. more >>

Americans coping with a tumultuous economy will cut back this year on holiday gifts but be more generous in giving to charities, a new study finds.

Seven in ten adults (71 percent) said they will spend less money on holiday presents this year, according to the findings of a World Vision survey, conducted by Harris Interactive. But nearly half (49 percent) of U.S. adults responded that they are now more likely to give a charitable gift as a holiday present.

“These results underscore our altruistic American culture of giving back,” commented Justin Greeves, Harris Interactive vice president of public affairs and policy research. more >>

People want to help poor children, but the reality is Christmas is right around the corner and budgets are tighter than ever this year. A children ministry and a Christian bookstore say they understand and want to make it easier on the pocketbook to give.

Compassion International, the world’s leading Christian child development organization, has joined forces with Christian Book Distributors, the world’s largest distributor of Christian products, to help families manage their holiday budget this year.

Anyone who signs up to sponsor a Compassion International child online before Dec. 31, 2008, will receive a $25 gift card to Christianbook.com. The gift card can be given as a present or used to shop for friends and families on the Christmas list. more >>

Six well-known ecumenical organizations banded together to call for the protection of the right to life, dignity and democracy of the people of Zimbabwe on Friday.

The general secretaries of the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, the World YMCA, the World Student Christian Federation and the World Alliance of YMCA’s issued a joint statement calling for the protection of right to life and dignity of all Zimbabweans and “for adherence to democratic principles and processes in the mediation process and a return of the rule of law inside Zimbabwe.”

Leaders issued the statement because they were “deeply disappointed and saddened” by the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) summit on Nov. 9 that failed to address the growing humanitarian crisis and challenge the illegitimate power of the current government. more >>

President-elect Barack Obama is not only inspiring hope for positive change among Americans but also overseas in Africa, church leaders say.

In Kenya, where Obama’s father was born, people celebrated the election of a man they consider one of their own to the most powerful political office in the world.

Hundreds of locals from Kogelo village in western Kenya, the hometown of Obama’s father, celebrated with the 44th U.S. president’s paternal grandmother and other members of his extended family by slaughtering cattle and chickens for a feast, according to Ecumenical News International. more >>